Paul Oscar Blocq (1860–1896[1]) was a French pathologist who is remembered for his neuropathological work done with Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893) and Gheorghe Marinescu (1863-1938) at the Salpêtrière in Paris.

Blocq and Marinescu were the first physicians to describe extracellular neuritic plaque deposits in the grey matter of the brain. Also the two identified a case of Parkinsonian tremor caused by a tumor in the substantia nigra of the brain. With Marinescu and bacteriologist Victor Babeş (1854-1926), Blocq published an important work on the pathological histology of the nervous system titled Atlas der pathologischen Histologie des Nervensystems.

A disorder known as "Blocq's disease" is named after him. It is also known as astasia-abasia, and is characterized by the inability to stand or walk, despite the capability to move ones' lower limbs when sitting or lying down.

Written works

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  • Sur une affection caractérisée par de l'astasie et de l'abasie. (Incoordination motrice pour la station et pour la marche (Charcot et Richer); ataxie motrice hystérique (V. Mitchell); ataxie par défaut de coordination automatique (Jaccoud). Journal: Archives de Neurologie. Paris: Bureaux du Progrès Médical; vol. xv., 1888 (pp. 24–51 and 187–211). – A condition characterized by astasia and abasia.
  • Atlas der pathologischen Histologie des Nervensystems (with V. Babeş & G. Marinescu) – Atlas on the pathological histology of the nervous system.
  • Anatomie pathologique de la moelle epiniere (1891); (with Albert Londe 1858-1917) – Pathological anatomy of the spinal cord.
  • Séméiologie et Diagnostic des Maladies Nerveuses. 1892 (with J. Onanoff) – Symptomatology and diagnostics of nervous disorders.
  • L'État Mental dans l'Hysterie, Paris 1893. – The mental state in hysteria.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Robinson, Victor, ed. (1939). "Paul-Oscar Blocq and Abasia". The Modern Home Physician, A New Encyclopedia of Medical Knowledge. WM. H. Wise & Company (New York)., page 1.
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